Checkmate
by darkrisingphoenix
Summary: AU. It began with a chess game, and ended with a kiss.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.**

Came to me when I was watching one of my classmates give a presentation on chess.

---

He sat quietly at the checkered wooden table, its side panels carved with intricate designs, waiting for his opponent. It had been over fifteen minutes since he had sat down, and he was growing impatient.

The doors suddenly burst open. A girl strolled in, walking with long, confident strides. She sat down at the table and watched him. He scanned her face; upon reaching her mouth, he saw it chewing gum in an undignified way, the jaw moving up and down, the gloss-covered lips not bothering to close. She was dressed in a black sleeveless jacket, the zipper half-opened to reveal the red tanktop under. Jeans covered her legs, an almost gaudy necklace adorning her neck.

He suddenly felt uncomfortably itchy in the suit he was wearing.

She lowered the rose-colored shades that hid her eyes, revealing large eyes. She leaned forward, breath tickling his lips.

"Hey you," She said. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

Sasuke then realized he had been staring.

"Shall we begin?" He asked, leaning in another centimeter. She retreated back to her seat and placed the sunglasses on her head.

"From the looks of you, I'm going to need to play medium," She grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth. "Ready?"

He nodded. "I suppose I'm white?"

She nodded. "So move."

He moved a pawn forward two squares...

---Hours Later---

"Checkmate." The king was knocked over by a pale finger.

"I lost?"

"Mmhm!" She grinned. "But you played really well! That was the hardest game I've ever played!"

He stood up and lowered his head, his bangs covering his face.

"Are you mad?" She looked up at him.

He lifted his head, a smirk plastered on his face. "No. Congratulations. You beat Japan's best chess player."

"Really? Then I guess I'm now Japan and Asia's best!" She cheered.

"You live in Japan?"

"Yup! In Tokyo. I go to Konoha High."

He frowned. No wonder she looked so familiar. "You go to the same school as I do?"

"Indeed I do, Uchiha Sasuke. Actually," She laughed. "I'm surprised your fangirls didn't follow you here."

A yell was suddenly heard from the crowd; joined by other shrieks of terror.

"Or not..." She jumped up and put the sunglasses back on. "I better run before your fangirls tear me to bits and pieces." She grabbed the white king. "This'll be my trophy. You can have the big one." She then ran off.

"Hey! That was my father's!" He called. "Come back here!" He ran towards the door.

"And the winner of Asia's Championship Chess Game is-!" The announcer began, but Sasuke had already made his way to the parking lot.

---School---

It had been a week since he had last seen her. But then, it had been Spring Break. He wanted the stolen 'trophy' back, and he wasn't about to give up his deceased father's prized heirloom to a girl.

School was restarting, and with high hopes (Well, as high as his can possibly get), he was waiting by the school gates for her. As soon as he saw the top of her hair, he immediately grabbed her arm and asked for it. Well... More like demanded.

"I want the king back." He growled.

"You lost fair and square. I won, so I get the trophy." She answered, wrenching the ivory arm out of his grip.

"That was my father's favorite chess piece, and he left it in my care. Do you know how much that means to me?"

"It's my favorite chess piece too. That's why my room is filled with kings. And yours has earned a special place in my cabinet." She entered the school, only glancing back to see the look on his face.

---Much Later that Day; At Lunch---

"Hey, Sasuke!" A loud voice interrupted his train of thought.

'Oh no...'

"What's gotcha down?" The rather jubilant blonde plopped down in a chair next to him.

"Right now? You."

"Lighten up, would'ya?" A hand gripped his spiky hair and lifted his head off the table. "It was just a chess game."

He shook the hand out of his raven locks and returned his head to the table. "And my father's favorite chess set."

"Just the king!"

"The _white_ king. It was my father's favorite."

"Your fault for using his chess set."

"My chess set." He grumbled, looking around for pink. He scanned the entire outdoor courtyard, where everyone was milling around and talking.

"Hey." The annoying blonde poked at his shoulder. "I heard she goes up on the roof for lunch." Sasuke immediately stood up and walked into the building.

"You're welcome!" Naruto called at his retreating back.

He jogged into the stairwell and climbed up the many flights of stairs. Upon reaching the door to the roof, he stopped to catch his breath before swinging the door open loudly. Leaning against the gate keeping people from falling off the building, sitting on the floor, was the king-thief. She was looking over her shoulder at the massive array of buildings and skyscrapers, her lunch barely even touched.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, not even glancing at him.

"How? It's polluted, dirty, and crowded." He took a step forward.

"You're so pessimistic. Lighten up a bit." She replied.

"You sound like Naruto."

"So? Perhaps I do, perhaps it is merely your imagination. Maybe we live in hologram machines, and the people we know are holographic projections. Who knows?"

"Philosophy?"

"Of course. Just remember: Life is shorter than you think, and can end it at any time. So relax and enjoy yourself." She grinned. "Oh, and tell your fangirls that I don't like you, and you came looking for me."

"Why would I do that?"

"If I get ripped to shreds, you'll never see that king of yours again."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Sasuke smirked.

"Maybe."

"Alright." He walked over to the chess-player and looked out at the city. "It is... Kind of nice."

"Isn't it?" She never once looked at him. "If you want, you can visit the king I took as a trophy."

"Really?" He looked down at her. "When?"

"Whenever. Just tell me beforehand, okay?" She grinned and finally met his eyes.

"Hn." He looked away and at the traffic-flooded street. Loud banging was heard at the door, accompanied by loud squeals and shrieks, ruining the peaceful moment.

Her eyes shot towards the metal door. "Looks like your fanclub is here. Good luck." She jumped up and walked towards a large pipe leading down into the school.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" She stopped to look at him, one leg in the tube.

"The lockers. It's a secret passage. I do this all the time." The banging on the door grew in volume.

"May I come as well? I don't want to have to deal with them." He jabbed his thumb at the door.

"Come here." He obeyed the order. "Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do. You. Trust. Me." She spoke slowly, as if he was a child.

"Why do you ask?"

"How do you know I'm not just going to abandon you?"

"I don't."

"Exactly." A glimmer of amusement shone in her eyes. "Do you trust me enough to follow?"

"..."

She glanced nervously at the source of banging. "Hurry up and decide."

"Lead the way." She held out her pale hand and grabbed his.

"When I am in, I want you to get in." He nodded. She slid into the pipe, keeping one hand gripping the edge, and gestured for him to follow. He hesitantly slid into the wide tube, grabbed her hand, and looked at her. "Ready?" Before he could reply, she released her grip on the cylinder and they began to glide down the chute just as the door flew open.

Sasuke could hear the faint squeals and yells of his fangirls as they went down further; but his main concern was not to crush his companion's hand. "Tell me again why I'm here?"

"Do you want to be mobbed by a bunch of screaming, hormone-driven girls?" She answered, loosening her grip on his hand as a warning.

"No." He tightened his hand on hers.

"Thought so." She glanced back at him, grinning widely. "Get ready to land."

"What?" They landed with a thump on hard ground. The female of the two stood up and brushed off her plaid skirt.

"Why do they make these things so short?" She grumbled, tugging on the edges.

"..." He stood up and looked around. They were in a big room covered with pale blue carpet and paint. A desk sat in one corner, and a few couches faced a TV. A refrigerator stood by a table, the stools surrounding it covered with plushy-looking pillows. A microwave was perched on a counter. "Where am I?"

"Cool, isn't it? I found it when I first transferred here, in my freshman year. I asked the principal about it, and she said she used to use it as a secret hideout when there was a student bugging her about something. Then she said I could use it during lunch periods and after school. Kind of her, eh?" She walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. "Soda?"

He looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Do you want a soda? Lunch won't be over for another half-hour, and from the sound of it, you're hungry."

"No, I'm not." His stomach grumbled softly, contradicting his last statement.

"Yes you are." She pulled a container out and closed the door. She then walked to the microwave and put the plastic container in. "How about some soup?"

---Twenty Minutes Later---

"We better go." She looked up nervously at the clock.

"What?"

"We should go. Before anyone gets out of lunch." She opened a hidden door the size of a locker. "Come on." Sasuke shrugged and followed.

They were suddenly crammed into a small space, bodies inches from one another. He moved his arm, bumping it into the metal wall.

"Where are we?" He asked. The answer came in the form of a 'Shhhh'. "Are we in a-?" A pale hand clamped over his mouth. He pulled it off. "Locker?"

A nod. A tug. Bright light. Open space. Rows of lockers.

They were back in the school's main hallway. He looked around and saw the chess champion closing the locker they had burst out of. She spun the lock once, and upon hearing it click, she turned and opened the locker next to it. "Did anyone see?"

"No... Why?"

She turned to face him, head lowered. Her slim hands gripped the small fantasy novel she had pulled out of her locker. "Because... I already beat you in chess, and if your fangirls see me with you anymore, they might... They might..." She stopped, fearful of saying what was on her mind. "Never mind." She spun around to face her locker, pulling out several notebooks as well as a folder and a sketchpad.

"Thank you."

"What?" She looked over her shoulder at him.

"For saving me."

A smile lit up the saddened face. "I guess I should be happy Mr. Arrogant is being humble for once."

"Am I really that bad?"

"Well," She giggled slightly, looking more feminine than usual. "If you look at the way you usually strut around school like a proud peacock, soaking up the attention everyone gives you, yes."

"Do you think I like millions of girls chasing me around every second of my life?"

"No, but you should tell them to leave you alone instead of just nodding and smiling that 'Oh-so-adorable' smile, as the school's entire female population would put it, and waving, you give out this sort of boastful air." She giggled again. "The only thing I am to your fangirls is a source for sketches of 'Sasuke-kun!'." She shook her head. "I swear... They are obsessed with you." Holding out the sketchbook, she motioned for him to take it. "Notice how almost every picture is of you with a girl's name under it."

"Then why do you draw for them?" He asked, flipping through page after page of his face.

She shrugged. "I guess it's because it gives a small sense of satisfaction that my art is appreciated, even if it's for the wrong reason. But I stopped taking requests after I beat you in that chess game." A sigh left her lips.

"After the pictures that were commissioned from those girls, I see a lot of game pieces and people playing games. It's almost amazing how much detail is put into each o-!" He stopped at a sketch. His eyes widened. "This... This is..."

"Huh?" She peered at the picture. "Oh, that one. It's just a picture of people playing cards. What's so shocking about it?"

"These people are from our school." Indeed, those sitting around the round poker table were all familiar faces, all acquaintances that Sasuke had grown up seeing. Naruto sat at one of the seats, grinning widely; probably happy with his current hand, his stacks of poker chips piled high. Ino, the president of his fanclub, had an angered expression on her face, the tiny pile of chips almost dwindling before his eyes. The lazy genius had given up playing, and was sitting in a relaxed position in his chair. Kiba was glaring at the smiling blonde, most likely angry that Naruto was so successful. Hinata, a quiet girl, was surprisingly lucky, and had almost as many chips as her crush. A blank space sat between Naruto and Kiba, waiting for someone to fill its void.

"Oh... Right. I was bored one night and drew that. Took about five hours. One of the only times insomnia turned out to be a blessing." The bell suddenly rung, interrupting the two. Sakura turned fearfully towards the cafeteria door and grabbed the sketchpad. "See you later. Come over anytime this afternoon to see the king. Bye!" She ran towards the art room as everyone began walking out of the lunchroom. As usual, he was mobbed by multiple girls and asked out on an almost infinite number of dates. As usual, he shook his head and said no.

---After School---

"Let's see... 1438 King Street... 1436 King Street... 1434 King Street... Where is it?" He followed the directions that had been given to him earlier in Art. "1432 King Street... I see no randomly colored houses anywhere." Looking around for any bright colors, all he saw were identical white houses, complete with grey shutters, neatly trimmed weed-less lawns, perfectly shaped bushes, and a maple tree in the same exact place on every lawn. Flower beds sported white pansies, all beautiful and thriving. Nothing seemed out of place here. In fact, everything was almost exactly the same.

Scratch that. At the end of the perfectly straight street, there was a house that stood out. Painted with an assortment of colors, it looked like it had been dipped into a bucket of tie-dye paint quite a few times over. The shutters were painted turquoise, and instead of a maple tree, there was a tree with fan-shaped leaves. The roof was a bright blue, and the front door was painted... Was that pink? He shook his head in disbelief as he began heading towards the odd house.

A squeal broke the silence. Arms were thrown around him. "Sasuke-kun! Are you here to see me?" An annoying voice chirped. He groaned.

"No. I am here to visit someone of much greater importance." He shrugged the limbs off his shoulders and continued walking. Ino looked after him with a frown.

"Whatever you do, don't go near that house!" She called. He stopped and looked at her.

"Why is that?"

"A bunch of lunatics live there. One painter, her geek of a daughter, and the geek's little ill sister. Just stay away, and you'll be fine."

"Ill?"

"Well, she's obviously sick. Some rare disease that makes her believe she can read minds." The blonde rolled her eyes.

"I see..." He continued towards the oddly colored house.

"Wait! Sasuke-kun..." Ino pouted. Being the mayor's daughter was supposed to get her everything.

He stepped onto the porch and looked down at the small tiles. A mosaic of the ocean and a setting sun looked up at him. He smirked and reached for the doorbell. The door opened soundlessly before he could press it. He poked his head in. A girl with long blue hair sat on the couch by the door, a piece of half-embroidered cloth in her lap.

"So you're sis's friend?" A pair of giant eyes looked at him. "You're different than your mind is. However, you and your mind have the same air of arrogance." She spoke like a teenager would, though she looked no older than twelve. "You're here to see her, right? Sis? A friend of yours is here." She directed her words toward an open door. A figure with tied up hair poked its head out of the door.

"Sasuke! I didn't think you would actually come." She rushed out hastily, smoothing the pale blue cotton tanktop and khaki knee-length shorts. "Thanks, Seya." She turned to the small girl and grinned. The girl had already returned to work on the cloth. "So you're here to see the king?"

"Why else?"

"Tsk, tsk. Always so cold, Sasuke. Didn't I tell you to lighten up?" She scolded.

"I am only here to see the king that you stole."

"Won." She corrected, grabbing him by the wrist. "It's in my room." He found himself being pulled up the stairs and into a door painted red. "Here we are." She spread out her arms as if showing off an expensive car. "It's not much, but it's my room. I think it's unique." And it was. There were shelves everywhere; all covered with an assortment of chess pieces. Pawns stood on one shelf, cowering under the nearby bishops. The rooks stood majestically next to the regal knights. A shelf of queens stood over the black and white desk. Over the ebony and snowy bed stood a shelf almost crammed with kings.

"..." He stood there, trying to keep himself from gaping like a fish out of water. The room, in its own essence, looked like a giant chess board; two walls painted white, two black. The bed was checkered, as was the lampshade. The carpet was white and free of stains.

"What do you think? I designed it myself." She poked at his arm. "Wow! I didn't know a mouth could open that wide." He snapped out of the trance and shook his head.

"Where's the king?" Sasuke asked. She answered with a sigh and walked to the bed. Standing on it, she reached for a glass box on a shelf above the kings. Pulling it down, she jumped off the bed and held out the clear container.

"See? I told you it got a special place." The beautifully carved white king stood on a black pillar, surrounded by glass. "This way, it won't get real dusty." He reached out and touched the glass. Not a nick or a scratch marred its surface. A small smirk found its way onto his face. "I took special care of it!" She looked at the chess piece almost lovingly, as if it were a child. "Like I said I would."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you take special care of it?"

"Well..." She smiled. "Because there's a small sense of satisfaction that I have something else that Ino doesn't have!"

"Else?"

"Well," She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I have Seya, my little clairvoyant sister, my mom, who's taken care of us no matter what, a sense of uniqueness, and now this chess piece! Everything else I have she does too. It's kinda nice to know that I have things she won't and never will." Placing the case carefully back onto the shelf, she flopped down on the bed happily.

"Doesn't it bother you that you're different?"

"Why would it?" She sat up and grinned, almost maniacally. "You're different too."

"How so?" He leaned against the wall.

"Well, most guys would kill to have attention showered on them day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, second after second, millisecond af-" Sasuke cut her off.

"I get the point."

An almost smug grin appeared on the girl's face. "But you're easily annoyed. Especially by a girl whose attention doesn't rain on you like hail."

"Does that make sense?"

"I have no idea, but it's a metaphor. Sort of." She shrugged. A pillow suddenly hit him in the face. "And that's what you get for insulting my logic."

"That didn't hurt, you know."

"I know." She giggled girlishly. "It was just to surprise you." He smirked and walked over to her, carrying the pillow. He dropped it on her head. She looked up at him and smiled mischievously. Grabbing a king, she whacked him on the head with it and giggled again. She stood on the bed and pressed her lips to his cheek.

He stood there gaping.

"Surprised?"

He looked at her. "Very much so, Sakura."

---

And it's done!

This took me a few weeks to finish typing this...

Stupid writer's block...

And yes, I purposely left out Sakura's name out until the end.

Please review!


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